The Lost Planet
by chefke
Summary: Kanan and Hera were just doing routine practice work when they were attacked and left stranded... Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of their Characters. All characters are owned by Lucas films or Disney.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: An Unexpected Training Session**

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Kana watched Hera toss and turned in a fitful sleep, a thin layer of sweat blanketing her frail thin body. He couldn't bring himself to leave her side. Surely he would find a cure. She would not leave him. Not like this. His thoughts were scattered and panicked as he remembered the last six days. It felt like a lifetime ago.

'Kanan! One more dent on my ship from you...' Hera's green eyes burned with anger. He was a good pilot but he was no Hera.

'I'm fine. This was your idea remember?' She had decided that they should get some practice at each others fields. Kanan was flying and Hera was in firing pit. She was clearly not happy with his flying.

It had started as a regular training exercise. Kanan was flying right outside an asteroid field and Hera was firing at the asteroids. They had been practicing different maneuvers, when two imperial ships emerged from hyperspace. They immediately opened fire.

They had both been caught off guard and the hyperdrive had been damaged. As they rushed to defend their ship the force tugged at him letting him know they were about to have additional company.

'Kanan! They had just deployed Tye fighters. Use evasive maneuvers and stray rocks for cover' Hera shouted.

'HERA! Concentrate on the guns, let me fly! Chopper! What's the status of the hyperdrive?'

Chopper made a series of unhappy bleeps.

'What do you mean, you can't fix it?!' Hera yelled. 'Kanan we need to go into the asteroid field.'

Kanan started to argue but Hera cut him off.

'Our shields are down by sixty percent. We can't take any more of this. I want my ship in one piece Kanan.'

Kanan switched to manual controls and flew the Ghost straight at the incoming tye fighters. He wasn't sure who was cursing more; Hera or the pilots in the Tye fighters. At the last second he pulled up and sending six of the Tye fighters into a huge rock that had been behind him. He used the explosion as cover to zip into the asteroid field. He was hoping it would they would go unnoticed. They did. The imperials must have thought they had gone up in the explosion. Just then he felt a sizeable asteroid come pinwheeling at him. He dropped the Ghost and swerved. He would have to find a sizeable rock to land on and make repairs. He was concentrating on not hitting any asteroids when he felt warm fingers on his back. He had felt her presence before he had seen her. It troubled him how he had buried the force down for so long and in the instant he had met Hera it had resurfaced. He didn't like to rely on the force any more than he liked to think about his history with the force. Most days he wished to be normal, like Hera.

But Hera was curious about the force and asked about it. It reminded him of when she first found out he was Jedi. He had saved her from being crushed to death. The idea made him shiver involuntarily. The idea of losing her gave him more sleepless nights then his all too vivid memories of Order 66. Still, she always asked when she thought he was drunk or too tired to just say no. He had always been evasive with his answers. Sure, he would like to have had someone to talk to about his life before, but it was too painful. He would have talked about this with his master. She was kind and always listened. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his chest. He should not have delved so deep. He would never find peace, so there was no point in dwelling in the past.

'Kanan... you there?' Hera was sitting in the co-pilot seat looking at him inquisitively.

'Looking for a sizable rock to settle on. Hmmm... what about that one?' He point at a jagged looking rock. It was much darker than the other rocks and struck out at odd angles. It wouldn't be easy to land but it would make would be impossible to seem them in the ridges. The high peaks would make it tricky for large ships to slip by unspotted by them.

'Great. You mind if I land? I think you've flown enough today love.' She winked at him.

'Ha! You're just scared I may be a better pilot than you!' He could see her eyes sparkle as she doubled over laughing. He smiled, that had been the point.

'You...you...' she had tears rolling down her face as he passed her and she slid into the pilots seat. 'I never knew your people were allowed to be funny!'

'Humanoids are allowed to be whatever they want, from what I'm told. Except for those ridiculous dancers in the Traders Core. No one should have to see that. Ever.'

She continued her laughter as the touched down gracefully into the third shelf of jagged rocks. Hera started to run diagnostics as Kanan got the repair kit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Fixation Problem**

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Summary:

Hera POV post landing

Hera would never admit it out loud but Kanan was a damn good pilot. They had both been blind-sided by the Imperial ships and he had already been half through four different maneuvers while she recovered from the inital shock. Of course, she couldn't tell him how impressed she was. All she would get for that would be his smug look and several advances. She felt a smile creep up her face as she thought of his wayward smile.

'That impressed with your own landing? You'll have to admire yourself later. Why were the Imperials so far out in the galaxy, I mean this just a asteroid field?'

Kanan was fixing the repairs onto his utility belt. She felt herself flush as his shirt lifted up. She quickly looked out the window at the dark rock so he would not see her looking.

'Hera?' She looked up at him, his eyes were filled with concern. 'Have you been sleeping Hera? You don't look well.'

'I'm annoyed Kanan. We weren't prepared for this fight and there's more damage than we originally anticipated. We may not have the parts we need to make the necessary repairs.'

Kanan held out his hand and gave her a weak smile. She reached out and took it.

'We better get started then.'

Kanan led as they headed to the engine room. Over the course of the next four hours they woeked diligently to get the engine back up and running. She kept sending Chopper back and forth to run tests and get parts. His bleeps were starting to get frustrated and upset.

'Ok. Ok chopper. Go power down for a bit. Kanan and I got this.' She bent over to examine the main conduit system. It had overheated while they were under heavy fire and the damage was in several key parts of the wiring. She was starting to feel hot when she realized that Kanan was leaning over her. She studiously ignored him and continued working but it was getting hard to concentrate.

'So... sending Chopper off to bed?' Kanan gave her a bemused smile.

'It's like we have kids love. They get cranky and need to go to bed.' She winked at him.

'Kids? Stars and galaxies! Please lets never have any of those on this ship.' His face was scrunched up like he was smelling something bad. 'No teenagers.' He said the last word like it was a disease. Hera laughed.

'I'm tempted to fill this ship with teenagers and let them run wild.' She was smirking.

'Well then we would have to share quarters, seeing as there would be so many people on the ship.' He folded his arms and leaned back on the entry way.

'Really now? Your just gonna up and move into Momma Hera's room? What would the children think?' She could feel her own forbidden smile creeping up her face. Her reponse seemed to have been the right one because he scooted over closer to her.

'Well... we could think of something... where do you think all these kids are coming from?' He spoke slowly and enunciated each word with a slow caress. He had somehow managed to make it very close to her or had she moved to him? She wasn't sure. She could smell his musk and feel his calmness radiating from him.

Their lips met and she felt as if her whole universe had stopped. His arm was sliding up her spine making her whole body shiver. She carefully slid her hands down his side. Wait. I should not be doing this. The rebellion. No time. Distractions. Wait. Woah. What did they teach Jedi in that Temple... She moved her hands into his hair yanking his hair tie out. She ran her fingers through his soft silky humanoid hair. He had moved his hands to her backside and lifted her up against the wall. His kisses grew faster and more urgent. She kissed him back with the same urgency and need. She had said they weren't going to do this. Why was she letting herself now?

His her thoughts were scattering as his arms went up her legs. She continued to hold his head closer to hers. She had both of her hands knotted in his hair. He broke away for a second, his eyes large and filled with wonder.

'Hera I...' She pulled him close and kissed him hard. He put both hands on her back and made down the hallway...

She wasnt sure how much time had passed but they definitely needed to get up and survey the rest of the damage. She opened her eyes to find Kanan leaning on one arm watching her.

'You passed out.' He kissed her forhead gently.

'Well I had a lot of excersize. What can i say?' She knew she was blushing but she didnt care. It was Kanan. She had wanted this since she met him. It was well worth the wait. 'Ehh... we need to head back to the engine room.'

She saw his face light up. 'Really? If your ready for round two then we can start here. There's no need to go back all the way to the engine room.'

'Ha! By my count we're on round four. Unless you weren't counting...' she was smirking at him.

'Oh no. Four rounds it is.' He had sat up and was tossing her clothes at him. 'Come on Captain, let's go check the damage.'

Two hours later they were sweaty, tired, and hungry. They decided to take a break and eat. While Kanan was whipping something up, Hera checked their pre-flight modulater. 'Weird,' she called 'there's no data at all regarding this entire system. It's like someone replaced the orbital planets with an asteroid field and left the sun in its place.'

'We can dig around while we're here if you want. Either way let's go see if the hyperdrive is back online. Here eat up!'

He handed her a bowl of some sort of stew like concoction. It was oddly delicous. Kanan then slid into the co-pilot seat and started his series of preflight nav checks. Hera looked out the window. Space had always been her favorite space, well other than the space she inhabited today. Four times. She felt her skin glow. She couldnt believe it. Kanan had been acting much more gentle since they left his bunk. They were going to have to sit down and talk about what it means for them now but he was so happy looking. She couldn't bear to sit down and have a serious talk, not when he looked this happy. She had caught him stealing glances at her while they were working. She sighed and looked out and saw the dim glow of the far off sun, the stars twinkling around them, the cold dark rock, the small bits of decaying wiring peeking out from...Hera bolted forward causing Kanan to drop his datapad.

'Hera! What's wrong?' He was standing right behind her, his breath a steady beat down her neck.

'Kanan this isn't a rock. It's part of a ship.'

Kanan looked at her like she had lost her mind. She silently pointed to the wiring. She could see Kanan's face pale as he made the realization.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Plan Formulations and Naps**

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Summary:

Kanan and Hera plan their next move.

Kanan was having a shocking day. First they had been attacked by two imperial ships, then by some miracle they escaped, then by a bigger miracle he and Hera kissed, and then by nothing short of divine intervention he and Hera were well one with the force several times. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He had been trying to run the nav checks when his mind kept replaying the afternoons events over and over.

The only reason he hadn't discussed it with her yet was that one paralyzing thought that subtly occupied his mind. What if she thought it was a mistake? What if she thought they were never meant to be? He dispelled the thought immediately. He had never felt so light and happy. But maybe he wasnt supposed to be happy. His head ached from the tidal waves of thoughts going on in his head. He silently prayed for a sign from the force. At that exact second Hera gasped. He dropped his datapad. NO.

Hera started to babble about a ship. He looked at her inquisitively. She was pointing at something outside the ship. He leaned forward to get a closer look. No... he felt the blood drain from his face as he recognized the wiring of a ship where the rock should have been.

'No wonder the Imperials tried to shoot us out if the sky! They must have been on patrol. The actual ship must have been the size of a moon.' he whispered., 'or a small planet. It doesnt make sense where did the asteroid field come from? Why would a lone ship of this size be in the middle or even near an asteroid field in empty space?'

Hera leaned over and checked the nav system. The closest planet was a full hyperspace jump away. They were both looking out of the window in awe when a series of beeps let them know the diagnostic was done. Chopper was beeping noisily behind them. He finally came back online, he mused.

'Stars, Kanan! We need a new stabilizer! Even if we make it out of here we won't make it past the Imperials and we're too far to travel to another planet. It will take us weeks.'

He could sense her panic as he looked into her deep concerned eyes. 'We are literally sitting on a ship. We may be able to salvage something. I am not sure how stable it is though. Chopper run a diagnostic. Try and see what type of ship we're dealing with.' Chopper hummed and beeped noisely.

Hera smiled at him kindly. She seemed on edge. 'Hera...' he started but Chopper started to make loud beeping noises. Kanan had never seen the little guy so agitated.

'What do you mean you have nothing on the ship? How could you have nothing? What materials are used in the fibers in the ship?' chopper bleeped sadly.'Go check the engine repairs again you useless bucket of bolts!' Hera tossed her datapad at Kanan angrily.

'This could be a trap. I'm not comfortable with this. We're sitting ducks without those parts.' She folded her arms across her chest and looked up and Kanan crossly. Even mad she was beautiful.

'There is always the possibility of a trap. I can go and you stay on the ship and man the emergency plan and escape route. If you want of course, i can stay and you go. Whatever you want.' He tried to push a calmness with his mind towards her. He could see that the idea of staying aboard had already made her considerably calmer. He really was a professional with frustrated woman. He needed to get an award of some sort.

'Ok, but what if there's something out there?' she had one eye brow raised at him and both her eyes closed. She leaned her head gently on his shoulder as she spoke and allowed her lekku to gently slide onto his arm. Her body was warm and welcoming underneath her pilots uniform.

'I'll be fine. I'm trying to rebuild a ship model based on the part of the ship we can see. It's like someone tore the ship apart but I have enough for a partial. And,' Kanan looked down and saw Hera snoring slightly. He smiled gingerly at her small green figure. He quietly put his datapad down and lifted her gently so she wouldn't wake. He padded quietly down the hall and laid her down on her bunk. He covered her with her blanket and sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her sleeping peacefully. He sighed as he realized how much work had to be done and he got up quietly and walked out of the room pausing only briefly before the doors of her room hissed shut To glance back at her small sleeping form.

He was almost done formulating the data and setting up the simulation suits when Hera woke up.

'You've made a lot of progress, that's great love.'

You're in a better mood. How was your nap? You're crankier than a hungry hutt stranded in the desert when your tired.' He was full on smirking now and knew he was either going to make Hera mad or make her laugh. He looked up and saw her smiling at him. He was glad to see his good humor was being returned.

"A Hutt you say? Well I'll show you what a Hutt...' She started to take several menacing steps towards him.

"Hey hey not the face! Remember, if you take me out then you have to go through the floating ship rock all by yourself.'

'Ship-rock?'

'Me and Chopper like it.' Chopper bleeped disapprovingly in the background.

'Really?'

'Yup, and I think it adds character. Is it a rock or a ship? You'll never know?!' He shook his head dramatically and waved his hands around. Hera took another step towards him. 'Besides I have lots of experience fending off angry woman. Give it a try.' He held his arms wide open.

Hera started to laugh, 'There you go with your joking around. Let me help you get into your space , and if I wanted to take you out, you'd be out.'

Kanan smiled and the two of them went over the plan with Chopper whistling angrily in the background.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: An Eventful Recon**

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Summary:

Hera watches from the Ghost as Kanan navigates the ship for salvage parts.

'Ok, and you're sure you have everything you need? Do you want to take an extra durasteel cutters, an extra medpac?'

'Hera. What could I possibly need two sets of durasteel cutters for? And I already have a mini medpac, why would I need two? It's just extra weight. I rechecked and checked all my stuff six times. I have everything I need.'

'I have a bad feeling about this Kanan.'

'Someone needs to pilot the Ghost and we can't fit two of us in that shaft. I'll be fine. You can watch everything through the holocam in the cockpit. Hera we'll be fine. Chopper you ready?' Hera knew Kanan was speaking firmly to her so she wouldn't worry, but she always worried. It could be her life long profession. If the rebellion wasn't her profession of course. She hated being left behind. She still wasn't used to having another organic being on her ship. She had had two droids at one point on the Ghost, but it was mainly just her and Chopper. She knew she had to rely on Kanan and that he wouldn't let her down but it was definitely unsettling.

'Ok, spector 1. Be careful out there.'

'Spector 1?'

'I like it, and if you get to make up ridiculous ship names then I get to give us code names.' She was smiling at the comm unit like a child.

'Whatever makes you happy Cap. Starting holofeed in 5.' He started to count down and in precisely five seconds her holo screen filled with Kanan's view feed as he exited the ship. She felt herself breathe in as his foot exited the ship and hit the platform. She watched as he walked a little and felt herself slowly exhale. Theres no need to be paranoid. It's an empty abandoned ship. What could happen?

Kanan spent the better part of the next two hours walking around and collecting data on the ship and simultaneously searching for the parts they needed. She noticed he seemed to hover at the faded markings all over the walls of the interior of the ship. He managed to find one component they needed and he had begun hauling it back when he stopped suddenly to look at more markings. She had been leaning forward to see why he stopped when Chopper started making loud noises behind her. She whipped around and asked him very politely to be quiet. Well she thought it was nicely, anyway.

'Her...I mean spector 2. Are you getting this?' The sudden speech over the comms had made her jump, they had been quiet for over an hour.

'Yeah. I'm not sure what I'm getting though. You got the part right?' She didn't want to stick around any longer than necessary. They had already gotten into more trouble than they bargained for today.

'Yeah but I'm doubling back, I need to take a look at something. Have Chopper come and pick up the parts from the docking bay. Spector 1 out.'

'Is it absolutely necessary? We have what we need.' She watched him pause mid-step. He seemed to be thinking about his decision.

'Yes. I must.' and he ended the transmission.

Kanan wasn't sure what surprised him more the aging of the ship or the amount of blaster and grenade markings on the wall. He spent the better part of two hours itching to get a closer look but, sightseeing wasn't part of the mission and Hera was already edge. He finally found the hyperdrive parts in several storage units in what were the remains of what had once been some sort of technical room. he started to double back when the whole container shifted. He slid to the side catching it almost colliding with the wall. He was hoping Hera didn't see that. The silence on the comms confirmed his suspicions and he exhaled. Hera always made him feel unnerved.

He was smiling as he looked up and he felt the smile vanish from his face. Those were not regular blaster marks. He stopped and stepped closer to observe the marks. He didn't really need to step closer, but he was suddenly breathless. He would have known those marks in his sleep. He often did see them in his sleep. They had covered the walls in the Jedi training rooms. The blaster fire was marked on the walls backwards, that meant only one thing. There were only handful of weapons that could deflect what looked like a firing squad.

He sidestepped into what should have been a doorway to another platform. He stepped carefully on the platform, hearing it creak under the strain of his weight. He traced the lines in the wall with his fingers. There were two sets of lightsaber marks here. Two Jedi were fighting? This ship was so confusing. He looked down the platform and saw what was left of a data terminal. The bridge ended shortly after where he stood and picked up several feet later. He might make the jump but the ship's bridge would definitely crumble under his weight after the jump.

He had just started measuring how far his cable would go when Hera's voice crackled through the comms. She was mumbling angrily at Chopper. He decided to break his eavesdropping and get her opinion. She didn't seem to think there was anything wrong. He was about to explain to her the situation and head back to the ship when he felt a tug. He felt as if his stomach had been yanked out of him. He felt a presence.

He was sure of it, he had never been more sure of anything in his whole life. There was someone here. A Jedi.

He immediately sent the container back and studiously ignored Hera's concerned comm calls. He silenced his comms after she kept sending him urgent messages to answer. He then fixed his lightsaber to be close next to his arm. The Jedi would trust him if he saw he had a lightsaber. He released his cable and jumped over the platforms. He stopped at the data consul. He decided better to have the information in case it could help the Jedi. He carefully attached his datapad to the consul. His datapad cried in response at the overhaul of information and sputtered and died.

He felt a flash of annoyance heat his face. He breathed in and out and worked carefully to unscrew the back panel of the consul and hook the memory unit on his utility belt. Of course, it didn't fit on his left side so he had to put it just above his lightsaber on his right hip. He wanted to wear his lightsaber proudly. He felt a warning in the force as his lightsaber slipped from view. Well, there's nothing I can do about that! He angrily shouted at the void that was the force.

His commlink continued to blink angrily as he continued down the rickety platform toward the Jedi. He could feel a raw ebbing in his stomach. He suddenly felt like he did that day. He closed his eyes as he fought to maintain his composure. What would the Jedi think? Thousands of Jedi's murdered and hunted down by the people they had spent their entire lives hunting down. No one had said a word. No one had fought for them. He felt anger lace through his entire body. Something was wrong. Why did he feel like this. It must be the Jedi, he must be in trouble. He reached out with the force. A small weak response led him down a path that would have been a great observatory with levels and levels of round platforms. There were shattered tall spheres circling the walls on every platform. They reminded him of the old bacta tanks. As he was walking towards the center of the room, he saw a limp figure on the ground. His Jedi robes were so tattered you could barely tell they had been brown once. He rushed over to the limp figure and slowly put two arms around the side of the Jedi and lifted him onto his backside as gently as possibly. He wasn't sure what surprised him more the almost white eyes or the severe damage done do him. Kanan burned with anger, his face was burnt from nose down and he was missing parts of his arm, legs, and torso. Kanan burned with hatred for the Empire.

'Are you alright?' Kanan hadn't realized he had whispered until the Jedi looked up at him.

'A..A...' he coughed and sputtered. Kanan set him up against the wall and quickly removed his medpac and treated some of his wounds and gave him liquids. He looked up quickly as a light went out in one of the cylinders he hadn't known was giving off light. The room felt dark and cold. He carefully wrapped a extra thermal blanket around the Jedi from his Medpac.

'Alek. My name is Alek.' He was speaking with eyes closed and wheezing but at least he could speak. He was going to have to get him back to the ship and patch him up soon, he didn't look well. He checked the data from the Ship's data consul. The ship might have some information on another planet here. He tapped his data pad He noticed absently that his commlink had stopped blinking. Kanan's datapad finally started working again, and he was transmitting all the data from the data consul to the Ghost.

'Where am I? Who are you? What happened?' Alek's voice seemed a little stronger and he was able to sit up on his elbows. Kanan had heard of Jedi being able to draw on each other for power during battle but he had never actually experienced it. His Master was always peace seeker. She rarely engaged herself in battle fields.

'My name is Caleb and I am going to get you out of here. I will get you to safety, don't worry. There are Imperial Cruisers just outside the asteroid field, you were smart to take shelter here. By the looks of the remains of this ship it's been here for a good twenty thousand years, the Inquisitor would never look here for a Jedi. Your lucky. How did you escape Order 66?' Kanan was still wearing his suit and it was starting to get hot inside. He debated taking it off but then he realized how sickly Alek looked and that it would be better to transport him first and worry about heavy suits later.

'Is everything all right?' Alek looked concerned. He had been planning the safest route to transport Alek when his eyes opened Kanan got a good look at his pupils. He took an involuntary step back. His hand moved to his commlink to warn Hera but it was too late. Alek sat up shedding his thermal blanket and flicked his wrist sending Kanan spiraling.

He felt his backside hit one of the cylinders. Kanan's leg got stuck under debree and he fought to get to his lightsaber. He looked up as he fumbled to see two yellow piercing eyes staring down at him.

'Fallen Jedi' He hissed. He should have known. How could he have been so stupid?! He silently prayed for Hera to have forgotten about him and taken off.

'I am no fallen Jedi you fool. I once was the Commander and ruler of this ship. I am a Sith lord you fool. You cannot defeat me. I have hibernated for twenty thousand years on the life of Jedi's in these tanks and now I will use yours to return to power.' Kanan fought as hard as he could but his right leg was pinned under the debree and his body was twisted so that he could not reach his lightsaber.

'Foolish boy. You are strong with the Force but your master should have taught you better. He should have taught you to recognize the power of the Sith.' A lipless smile spread up his face as he reached out a hand up and Kanan felt himself trapped in a Sith choke hold. Why didn't he listen to his gut the second he got onto the ship? Why had he bothered looking for another Jedi? It was a dead religion. A relic of the path. Nothing more than a pile of old holodisks.

He could no longer keep any thoughts together. He was in a choke hold but he wasn't being choked. He felt as if his entire life force was being stripped away slowly. He couldn't breathe anymore. Hera. Hera. Hera. His last thought before everything went dark was a thought for Hera.

Run.

Run Hera.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A Rescue Mission**

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Summary:

Hera fights to save Kanan from a Sith Lord.

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Hera knew there was something wrong the second Kanan turned off his Commlink. He seemed to have forgot there was an active video feed. She rolled her eyes and helped Chopper install the new hyperdrive parts. He was in middle of fixing the parts when she went to check on the news feed. Kanan was leaning over a slump of robes. Jedi robes. She felt her eyes glued to the screen. A Jedi! She yelled at Chopper to finish the rest of the repairs. She was lighting up the engines. The asteroids were pretty clear around them. She would be able to fly and get a medic as soon as possible for the Jedi. She was running through her preflight checks when she saw Kanan turn his back on the withering Jedi and she heard a ping on the Ghost's computer system as Kanan sent her data from this ship. She was sifting through data when she saw the Jedi's eyes look up at Kanan with his back turned. Hungrily. Hera sat up straight in her chair. Something was wrong. His eyes were yellow. Kanan had mentioned something about yellow eyes on a Jedi. Hera wracked her brain thinking of what it could possibly be. When the realization hit her she felt her entire body go cold. No... It wasn't possible.

'Chopper we need to go now. Get ready to fire. We need to make an emergency pick up for Kanan.' She was responded by angry beeps from Chopper.

'Chopper. I don't care if the Hyperdrive is ready or not. I see a planet listed in the data Kanan sent. It's called Lehon. I am setting a course.' She felt her nerves fraying at her. She detached the Ghost from the Ship-Rock and looked up at the Holocam momentarily and instantly regretted it. Kanan was pinned under something and this Sith guy was standing over him. She carefully glided over the side of the ship and headed for those glass windows.

She snuck another glance, Kanan was mid air, his legs dangling in the air. There was blood streaming down his right leg. His face was turning grey, the Sith leaned over and was whispering something in Kanan's ear. Hera looked straight at the windows and fired. The shock of being fired at knocked the Sith over backwards and sent Kanan sprawling on the floor. Air was being vented out into space, and oversized Bacta tanks were flying dangerously passed the ship. The Sith was holding onto one of the Bacta tanks. Hera was urging Kanan to get up.

'GET UP KANAN' she shouted angrily. Kanan's eyes looked up at the Ghost in confusion. He didn't seem to be able to stand. Hera unstrapped herself from the Pilots seat. She was going to go get Kanan herself. As she was getting up she saw Kanan push himself off of the platform and fly out into empty space. Hera scrambled back to the controls and opened the Hanger. She heard Chopper in the bay and she pulled back the ship. Why was it going forward. She looked up and saw the deformed Sith with his hand out. He was pulling the Ship, and entire ship towards him. He seemed to be instant on taking them alive. Well you clearly haven't met me, and you won't get the chance. She set a course for Lehon and pulled herself in weapons gear and started firing. Whatever the Sith was expecting it definitely wasn't her firing at him. She could see his shocked face as fire engulfed what was left of the ship and the Ghost pulled out of the death trap that was this ship-rock.

Hera ran to the bay Medpac in hand, to see Kanan slumped on the floor still in his suit. Hera felt her breath get caught in her throat. How could so much happen in so little time? She ran to Kanan gently turned him over running her hands on his cold face. She gently peeled the suit off of his skin, some parts had to be cut off because they were stuck because of all the blood. She was applying Bacta and wrapping his leg to stop the bleeding. She felt the ship touch down, Chopper must be in the Pilots deck.

'Hera?' His voice was raspy and his eyes were a pale green., 'Hera? Are you ok? There's a sith...'

'It's Ok Kanan, shush.. your ok. You are ok. Just breathe Kanan' Hera knew her voice sounded panicked. She was having a hard time controlling the blood loss. She needed to get it under control. Where was that damn droid?!

'Hera?'

'Kanan, save your breath please. We need to land and find help'

'Did you get the parts? The parts... the parts...' his voice was barely a whisper now.

'Kanan I have the parts we are going to jump soon. Hold on for me. Please Kanan.' Kanan was looking at her as if he hadn't noticed her there before.

'Hera?' He was looking at her inquisitively.

'I told you to run Hera. Darth Ma..' Kanan started to seize up and shake violently. Hera held him steady and felt her panic spread throughout her body. She caressed his head and put cold rags that Chopper had just brought on his head. He was freezing but he was sweating. The blood was soaking her flight suit. She was holding Kanan's hand and cradling his head in her lap.

'Please don't leave me Kanan. Please, please, please.' She whispered.

She felt strong arms pull her from Kanan. She was disorientated at first and then realized that she was being pulled from Kanan and she started to fight and scream to get back to Kanan. She felt three digit claws bite into her arms, she looked up to see eyes on either side of a tall head looking down at her seriously. She wasn't aware of what she yelled but it was enough to get the creature to let go momentarily. She dropped, kicking him so she knocked him over and reached for her blaster. She felt two sets of arms grip both of her shoulders and yank her backwards. There were two of them. The taller one was saying things she didn't understand. He pulled her backwards again and she fought to get back to Kanan. As she got up she saw there were six of them surrounding Kanan. There was a bright white light engulfing Kanan as the strange aliens made a low mumbling noise as one. Hera felt herself standing there for what felt like an eternity. She moved her body towards Kanan. Some color had returned to his face and his bleeding had stopped. She felt the claws loosen on her arms and she ran forward to Kanan. His eyes were closed and his skin was wet and cool. She wrapped her arms around him, six faces staring at her in a circle. That was the last thing she remember before someone came up behind her and everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: A Time for Reminsince**

* * *

Kanan had awoke with pain shooting up his right side. He should be dead so he supposed he would be grateful. One of the Amphibian like natives came in and gave him extra cushioning so that he could lay in less pain.

'Rest. The healers will be in soon.' His voice was deeper than the others from the ship. Everything had been such a blur, once he realized Alek was a Sith, everything had been a series bright lights and loud explosions.

"Hera, my twiilek friend. Is she here? I need to see her.' He started to lift himself up and he immediately crumbled back down from the pain spasming through his side.

'Be still young Jedi, your twiilek sleeps beside you. She sleeps a lot for a child giver? Don't you think? I am Waalek.' Kanan smiled and lifted his head as much as it would allow. Waalek came over and adjusted the cushions again so that this time Kanan was propped a little higher. It was less comfortable but he could see Hera. She was curled in a small ball sleeping soundlessly. All of her fierceness was erased and her face was smooth and innocent. She looked young.

'Thank you Waalek. You are most kind.' Waalek handed him what looked like fancy vase. When Kanan brought it closer to him he realized there was a lid and it contained water. He drained the whole thing and handed it back to Waalek. 'Thank you again.'

Waalek smiled at him., 'I will be just outside if you need me. The Healers will be here soon. It is a great honor Jedi.'

'Kanan, my name is Kanan' He was really starting to like Waalek. Waalek smiled and backed out of the room stopping only to leave another jug at his bed and at the foot of Hera's. Kanan laid quietly reminiscing the last couple of days. It must have been days. He would have to ask Waalek how long he was sleeping when he got back. He thought back to when all the life was draining from him and Darth Malak whispered in his ear, 'I am Darth Malak'. He was wracking his brain for what he remembered from history of Darth Malak from the Jedi Temple. He didn't remember much. He was still trying to remember the Sith that Darth Malak had served with when he saw Hera bolt up from the sleep couch. Her hand went instantly towards her blaster, which incidentally was hanging from the door. She looked confused and panicked.

'Careful love, you don't want to bang your head.' Kanan watched as Hera looked across the room. He waved his left arm at her. Hera stared him, he was smiling at her. He watched her sink onto the couch bed.

'Are you ok? Is anything hurting?' Kanan was nervous, he had never checked if she was injured. He was sitting here all this time and he didn't check.

'You're asking me if I'm ok? Really? Kanan. You were attacked by some psycho Sith overlord. Are you ok?' Her eyes were glowing green. Kanan was sure if she was mad at him or worried.

'Yes, I'm fine. I couldn't really feel anything before. I can definitely feel pain but everything is on the mend so..'

Kanan stopped abruptly. Hera's eyes were shining, 'Hera?'

'I thought you were dead. I thought I was dead... your body was just slumped sideways and I didn't know if you were alive or not.' Her voice was shaking.

'So what, you were worried Chopper would be lonely without me? Don't worry about him. The little guy can take care of himself, speaking of, where is he?' He was trying to keep the conversation light because she was clearly distraught but in a moment that surprised him to the core, he held his arms open. She ran into them. He was surprised at the gesture. He winced as she pressed against his side. She looked up with clear beautiful eyes.

'What's wrong?'

'I surprised myself.'

'How so? Am I hurting you?'

'No your not hurting me, and my Jedi master used to do this when I was upset. She was the closest thing to a mother and a father I ever had.' He could see Hera's shocked face from under his arm. He never spoke about his life before and although she pestered him more than he liked, he never really said much.

'She? I've never heard of woman being a Jedi. I didn't know they could be Jedi.'

'Some of the greatest Jedi were women.' His mind traveled back to the Temple. He remember the first time he had seen it. He remembered thinking it was the biggest thing he had ever seen. It was small in comparison to other buildings he had seen. It didnt even exist anymore. The Imperials had destroyed everything left of the Jedi. They left no reminders or hints they had existed. Just an old myth. He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Hera was talking to her.

'... and what was her name?'

'Hmm? Bilaba. Jedi Master Bilaba. She was on the Jedi Council. It was a big honor, not many Jedi got the chance to be on the Council.'

'Why not?'

He shrugged, or whatever passed for shrugging without moving. The pain was getting worse. 'Different reasons. Some died younger, some didn't want. I had heard of two Jedi who retired and left to travel the galaxy together. They revisited every planet they had ever been on a mission for the council. They had been revisiting a planet called Melida/Daan when Order 66 was given.'

'I heard rumors that the government of Melida/Daan smuggled Jedi off of the planet when the order was given.' Hera's eyes were open and looking into his. 'Do you think it's possible they survived? We could find them and' Kanan cut Hera off mid ramble.

'And what start another Jedi Council?' The days of the Jedi are over. They gave their lives for this galaxy and look what they got in return. Annihilation.'

'They?'

'It's been a long couple of days. My life plan is to survive and hopefully not be tortured to death in some Jedi trap or worse be transported to Mustafar.'

'What's that?'

'The planet where Jedi go to die. And not the nice way. The planet used to be called something else, but no one remembers. It has always been a dwelling place of the Sith.' He pushed himself up on his shoulders. The pain was getting worse. He felt his face whiten and constrict.

'Kanan whats wrong? What can I do?'

A low rumbling noise came from behind them. There were six natives standing by the entrance way, with Waalek hovering behind them. He didn't speak this time, but one of the natives in the front did. His Basic was guttural and between every word they clicked their teeth. This clearly wasn't their native tongue and they were definitely not used to speaking Basic.

'You must leave us twiilek so we can complete the healing, with every passing moment his infection grows worse. He will die if we do not complete the healing. He may still die, that much remains to be seen.' Kanan felt Hera pull herself closer to him. Kanan tried to push her back. If he did die he didn't want Hera to fight with these people. They might not let her leave this planet alive.

'Kanan...' she said warningly. Bossy Hera was back.

'Please. Hera.'

'No. The last time I left you when you asked you almost had your life force ripped from you by a crazy Sith.'

One of the aliens turned to Hera. 'Lord Malak has been a threat and a constant source of fear to all of our tribes here on Rakatan long before you built your Temple on Coruscant. Our people owe the Jedi a debt as old as time and it seems we owe them again. The Rakatan will not abandon you, young Jedi. Young Twiilek; you should not dismiss our healing. Rakatan do not heal any of those who are not our own.'

Hera hesitated then squeezed his hand as she got up. She paused at the foot of the bed. Her face had a yellow halo of lights around her, she looked like a planet he had once passed in the Outer Rim. Kanan concentrated on his breathing.

'Kanan?' He looked up at her. 'What happened to her, your master?' Kanan winced and not from the pain of his injuries. Hera always knew how to ask the painful questions.

'She died that day so I could escape.' He watched as Hera was ushered out of the room her grief mirroring his own as he relived the worst moments of his life. When the healers closed his eyes he was all too glad to succumb to the blackness of his subconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: An Ancient Alliance**

* * *

Summary:

Kanan is finally recovering and Hera learns more about their saviors. They are introduced to the beings that saved Kanan and they rekindle a twenty-five thousand year old alliance.

* * *

Hera left the room and was escorted down a long hall. The compound seemed to be circular with no enforced roof only red hard materials that she assumed stopped strong winds and rain. She was still reeling from all the information Kanan had given her to notice much else about the complex. She was led to a small room and the tall amphibian like alien motioned for her to sit.

He handed her a cup of water. She smiled kindly at the Rakatan.

'My name's Hera.'

'My name is Waalek. I will be your guide for your stay on Rakatan.'

Hera had a million questions to ask Waalek about his people, where they had come from, why their planet was hidden, but she couldn't bring herself to ask any questions. She was bone tired. The last several weeks had been mission after mission. The training excersize had been her idea of a break so that they could refresh. She really needed to re-evaluate her opinion of relaxing.

'Your Jedi will be fine. The Rakatan are great healers even among your worlds.'

'He's not my Kanan.' Waalek gave her a quizzical look. 'He's everyone's Kanan. I mean not everyone everyone. But the rebellion. I mean the people. He's a Jedi. You know?' Hera had just rambled half her mind off and was pretty sure she was purple from her blushing. Waalek just smiled.

'You are committed?' He looked curiously at her.

'Like our cause yes. Very comitted. Wait, what are you asking?' He seemed uncomfortable for a second then he brightened.

'A union. That is the phrase. Are you both in a life union?' If Hera's cheeks were purple she wasn't sure what color her face was now.

'No! No! We just live together. I mean we have the same goals. I mean... oh starz Waalek! Your driving me bolts crazy.' Waalek looked instantly worried.

'Not in a bad way dont worry.' She assured him before he could speak. 'By the way do you know where my droid is? His name is Chopper.'

Waalek looked down at his feet and started to shuffle them. It looked like a nervous gesture. Hera immediately lost all nerves about Kanan and rounded on the suddenly small looking Rakatan.

'Where is Chopper?!' She was giving him a look that would have terrified an entire storm topper battalion.

'Well...' he was shuffling faster now and looking at his feet. He was intent on not meeting Hera's gaze.

'We hadn't accounted for him to be on the ship. When we tried to remove both of you he was starting shooting at us and zapping two of our healers. Our healers are not trained for battle. And'

'Battle?! Chopper is a droid! Take me to my useful bucket of bolts now!' Hera hadn't meant to shout but she had started and couldn't contain herself. They took her from her ship, knocked her out, then did galaxies knows what to her droid.

'But he's decomissioned. We can build you a new droid. It won't be a...'

'Chopper. Now.' Hera looked at him muderously. If he kept it up it wouldn't just be a look. Waalek seemed to think it was best not to argue with angry twiileks. Still looking at his feet he shuffled out of the room and she followed. He led around the long circular hallway, after they passed seven doors he stopped outside the eighth.

He continued to stare at his feet and sat down crossed legged on the floor.

'I will await you here.'

Hera rushed into the room and stopped short it was a disassembly room. There was a droid placing old bits and pieces into a melting unit for reuse.

'Stop.' She shouted. He was holding a very familiar looking panel. 'Move now.' The droid looked at her. 'How would you like to go into the unit? Drop what your holding and move.'

Hera walked over and briskly took a panel from the droid. 'Out. Now.' She was not loosing a single member of her team today. Not one. She cradled Chopper's paneling in her arm. She started to dig through the mess and found his circruit battery. It was pretty badly damaged.

She continued scrounging for his parts. It took a painfully slow and backbreaking 4 hours, but she found all the pieces she was going to find. She called Waalek and asked him to get her some tools and to help.

He worked mainly in silence, only stopping to get her something to eat and to get more parts. They both worked quickly and they were done in an hour. All Chopper's weapon system's had been upgraded by the Rakatan. Apparently they had melted anything they thought was useless or outdated first. She had deactivated his weapons system for their inital power up.

'Ready Waalek?'

'Yes, I am ready.' He looked very serious. She shrugged and powered Chopper up. He immediately started bucking, bolting, twisting his little droid hands in defensive positions.

'Chopps? It's me. Momma Hera.' He stopped immediately and scooted closer to her . After he was sure it was her he started bleeping in furious tones.

'I know. They are helping us. Yes, he's safe. Their healers are with Kanan now.' He bleeped furiously one last time and zoomed to the other side of the room and proceeded to sulk. Waalek walked up behind her. She hadn't realized he had left.

'Is he really that mad we turned off his weapons system?'

'Yes and that we upgraded it. He has this fear he'll be replaced by a new droid. Teenagers.' They didn't need teenagers they already had one. With a built in targeting system.

Waalek seemed puzzled by her teenager comment, but he remained silent. She turned on Chopper's weapons system and headed back to the door.

'Can we see Kanan now?' She put stress on the word we. She wasn't letting Chopper out of her sights again. He left abruptly and then returned with another shorter Rakatan.

'Yes. We will bring you to him. The healers have said that he will live. He is very strong. He will need to rest for several days before you can continue your journey.'

'I know, he is very strong. Maybe I will wait outside. If he is resting I do not want to wake him.' She had stopped outside the door.

'They said he was calling for you during the healing. You should go, he will need your strength to heal faster.'

To say Kanan was resting would be a gross understatement. He looked worn out and at least fifteen years older. He was more passed out/half dead than resting. After checking he was breathing she retreated backwards towards the door.

'Hera?' His voice was low and scratchy. She turned and ran straight into his arms.

'Kanan? Are you ok? What can I do? How do you feel?' Her words were coming out in a jumble. He winced and she started to pull back but he held her half on the bed.

'Please don't leave.' She carefully swung her legs over the bed and cuddled closer to Kanan. Well, the half of his body that wasn't covered in bandages. She rested her head under his arm. She gazed up at him. His eyes were filled with wonder.

'I love you.' She whispered.

'I loved you from the moment i met you.' He whispered and then looked sadly at her as his hand traveled up her lekku. 'This time this dream is so vivid. Usually I can sense I am in a dream state. Now, I just feel confused and alone. You won't be here when I wake up and that is always the worst part of this dream.' He nuzzled his head in her arm and was whispering something.

'Kanan... I...'

'Ssshhhh... Hera love... sshhhhh' Hera felt tears well up in her eyes as she hugged Kanan closely.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Forgotten Race**

* * *

Kanan's entire right side was sore, his left side was warm. He was about to get up when he heard rather than saw Hera snoring next to him. He smiled fondly at her. She must have slipped there while he was sleeping. She looked so peaceful. He traced one finger down her soft cheek.

He felt Waalek walk into the room. He had a tray of assorted jugs. He handed him the first jug and was about to speak when Kanan motioned for him to be quiet. Hera barely ever slept. He made a drinking motion. Kanan drank the first jug, then a second... Ten minutes later he had drained eight mini jugs. His eyes burned a bit and he had to relieve himself. Reaching out to the force he slipped himself from Hera and used the force to balance Hera so she didn't get jostled while he stood. He was standing at the entryway admiring her still sleeping state when he froze. He had just reached out to the force. There had been no thought or rational decision making. He felt panic course through him. He had never been able to do that. Even as a padawan. What had they given him?

He pulled his shirt on and fastened his belt to him. He felt the slight reassuring weight of his lightsaber. He slowly walked out of the room giving the ever vigilant Chopper a stern look from him to Hera on his way out. Chopper's head swiveled in response. He turned and smiled at Waalek and waved for him to follow. Waalek followed him around the bend where Kanan promptly picked him up with one hand on his throat and held him up against the wall.

'What have you done? What was in those jugs. What are you doing? Did you poison me?' He whispered. Waalek looked terrified.

'We had to make sure you were a Jedi. Once we knew you were we were terrified. No one has ever lived passed a meeting with Darth Malak. We were scared you were Darth Malak in another form. We had to be sure. We had to. They will come for us. We had to hide until we were sure. Then we saw you were compassionate with the twiilek and' Kanan's hand had tightened around his throat.

'What the hell are you talking about?! Who is this we? If you did anything to Hera...' Waalek started to choke. Kanan dropped him immediately terrified. What was he doing? These people had taken him in. They had saved him while he was dying. There were no Imperial Inquisitors impending on him, why was he acting like this?! They were probably terrified that he worked for the Empire. He felt shamed and disgusted with himself.

'Waalek... I...' he couldn't find his voice or his words. 'I don't know what's wrong with me. I never act like this. I don't. I'm so sorry. I don't know how I could ever.' He helped Waalek up. Why was he even letting him touching him? He couldn't even get the words out to apologize. He had almost killed him. What was wrong with him? How could he? Hera. That was his trigger. He had freaked out when he had mentioned Hera. He was losing control. Master Bilaba would never have forgiven him if he had killed someone. Especially if it had been because of someone he had loved.

He knew she loved another Jedi before the Clone wars. He had died on a remote planet fighting a Sith of great power. Another padawan had told him she had left the order after that. Many Jedi thought she wouldn't return. She did though and it took many years but she eventually took him as his padawan.

He felt an arm on his shoulder. He opened his eyes. He was kneeled on the floor. Waalek was looking at him with compassion. His voice was suddenly deep and his eyes looked old.

'Breathe Kanan. Let the anger go. Relax your mind. Be one with the force.' Kanan did as he was told and felt himself fold calmly inwards. He was concentrating on his breathing. When he opened his eyes he was no longer in the hallway. He was in a round room. There were high chairs circling him. In them were seated Rakatan in tall brown robes. He felt his breath caught in his throat. He remembered being in a room with tall robed scholars, the force pulsating through each seat. It was as if he was standing before the Jedi Council itself. What is this place? They quieted when Kanan's eyes focused on them.

He stared silently at the group. Waalek addressed them in their language and they spoke animatidately back and forth. He guessed they were talking about him, but there was some sort of argument going on. He could sense it. Some of them didn't trust him.

'Kanan Jarrus' They were all murmuring his name. Kanan looked up at the robed Rakatan.

'I thank you for saving me, for taking care of Hera, and for helping to reassemble Chopper. We are forever in your debt.' He bowed his head. He sensed something was wrong. He looked up and saw nineteen surprised faces looking back.

One of the Rakatan on the far left removed his hood.

'I can assume you have guessed we have more on common than just an organic lifeform?' He spoke with authority and his eyes never left Kanan's.

'You're all force sensitive. But your people were never part of the Jedi.'

'Correct. Twenty six thousand years ago a great Jedi came to our halls. The Jedi requested our help in destroying a powerful weapon. Before the Jedi left, the Jedi warned us against joining the Jedi Council. The Jedi told us we would have many force sensitive Rakatan, but to hide them from the Jedi. Their rivalry with the Sith would wipe them out along with us if we joined their ranks. So we stayed in the shadows of our own planet. Protected by the remains of the space station that was once our greatest enemy. Because our people have unions and have offspring most of our people are force sensitive. We discovered that all offspring will be force sensitive as long as one parent has the will of the force. It has helped our people live peacefully as one mind and one with the force.'

'Regardless, Kanan, you have been the source of great debate in our circle.'

'Because of my outburst earlier?' He was still shocked that there was entire planet of Jedi, that everyone seemed to have missed. They seemed intent on not being Jedi. Before the Order he would bave been furious, now he understood.

'No, because we haven't allowed any outsiders to meet our people for twenty thousand years. Had we allowed it, we would have been wiped out with the Jedi. We do not wish to meet their fate.'

'This I understand, but then if I am a threat to society to then why did you save me? If you left us in space I would have died and Hera would have moved on.' There was a uncomfortable silence in the room. Judging by the amount of Rakatan shifting in their seats the decision to rescue them definitely was not unanimous.

'We saw you fight the Darth Malak and some of our younger,' he gave a pointed glance at Waalek who was still standing next to Kanan. ' and more impressionable younglings decided to go research and see what happened on the ship. When they found you they healed you temporarily and brought you all back. When you both came here we sifted through most of your memories and found that you are both trustworthy by our council.'

There was a loud chorus of agreeing murmurs.

'We still have the problem if we can let you go. Hera we can let go. She knows nothing of us and our order, but you have the knowledge that could lead to our ultimate destruction should you be caught or turn to the dark side.' He gave Kanan a pointed look, as if he suddenly knew him and that he assumed these were the only two paths that he was capable of. He felt anger course through his veins. Who was this Rakatan to judge him? To decide his fate? He took a deep breath before he spoke and he felt his voice shake as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

'So, you saved me to imprison me? To make a prisoner? You are so sure I am only capable of death and destruction? Who are you to tell me my path is?!' He raised his eyes toward the Council surrounding him. He felt Waalek put an arm on his shoulder and turned worriedly towards him.

'Not imprisoned. You will be our guest. You will be welcomed in like the rest of our people. You will be free to live here openly as the Jedi you were born to be.' He was looking at him with sincerity and real hope. He felt his anger dissolve slowly, he had an ally.

'No.' He turned to the Council, 'You cannot make me stay, I will be a prisoner to your people. You have seen my memories. I am part of something bigger, a rebellion maybe. I will not stay here and besides, Hera won't leave without me.' Hera. He would not let them harm her or force into anything. She would not be held here against her will. He could fight their way out, or fight enough so she could escape.

'I see you trying to calculating your escape Kanan. You will not leave this planet with your memories of our people and this place. Waalek should never have shown you our Council.' The elder Rakatan looked at him sternly as the others murmured in agreement. Waalek looked up angrily.

'He had the right too know!' He shouted.

'No, he did not. His memories of his past and present will be his downfall.' The Rakatan looked at him with sad aging eyes.

'So then take them! I don't want them, I just want to leave with my crew.' He was half shouting half pleading. He spend most of his life running or hiding. Never getting to

comfortable in case the Empire came for him. He was comfortable with Hera. He was more than comfortable, he wanted to spend every waking moment by her side. He would not leave her. He couldn't.

 **'** The process of taking ones memories is a difficult one. One, you would not survive.' He said soberly.

Waalek squeeked he looked terrified. 'Please Kanan, do not press this matter. It is too dangerous.' Waalek whipped around to the elder. 'He should be allowed to leave. I speak on behalf of Kanan Jarrus of the Jedi Order and Crew of the Ghost that he should be granted permission to leave our world. '


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: An Unwanted War**

* * *

Whatever Waalek had said had shocked the entire room into silence.

'We cannot allow the ship to leave Waalek. It is too dangerous. We cannot risk our entire people for the lives of two.' The elders voice barely rose above a whisper.

'I will not leave Hera to-' A deafening bang rang through the room as the doors behind him smashed open. Hera strode in to the room, he boots clattering on the floor. She had blasters in both hands and grenades strapped up her legs. As one the entire circle of seated Council Members stood.

'How dare you?!' Shouted the Elder.

'I dare. We thank you for healing Kanan but to put it simply for you all; neither of us will be staying here indefinitely.' She was now standing side by side with Kanan.

'You will obey the wishes of this council.' The elders was now standing off of his chair on the platform. Waalek moved forward and put himself between them and the elder.

'Father. Please.' Waalek started to murmur in their home language and whatever was being argued was lost to Kanan. The room was filling with hundreds of Rakatan and they were all standing in fury. He looked over to Hera.

At least they had one ally. Hera looked at him and raised one eyebrow. She was thinking the same thing. Waalek's father reached out his arm and Waalek retracted making a strange symbol in the air. Kanan didn't seem to think anything of it but everyone else must have because there was thousands of voices all yelling at once. Hera's arm was on her blaster mimicking Kanan's. They exchanged looks. What had they done?

'What the hell is going on?' She whispered. A voice rose from behind them making them both jump.

'Waalek challenged his father's ruling. This hasn't been done since before the time of the force.' Kanan turned to see hundreds of young Rakatan behind him. The elder Rakatan were pooling behind his father. The boy continued; 'If his father does not concede they will fight to the death and the winner should take claim to all the clans.'

'What do you mean should?' Hera shouted over the noise.

'The rule hasnt been used in over 30 thousand years. The elders will start a civil war in protest.' Kanan felt the floor spin. What was he doing? Why wasn't he thinking. Like it or not he was a Jedi. Jedi were supposed to bring peace and unity. He was bringing war and strife to this planet. Master Bilaba had not given up her life for him to start Civil wars among force sensitives. He felt a pang in his chest as he stepped forward.

'Waalek a word. Now.' Kanan hadn't realized how loud he'd shouted. The whole room went silent. Waalek separated from the crowd.

'Waalek, I can't allow you to do this. I cannot allow your people to go to work over myself. It is not the Jedi way. I cannot allow any innocent people to die for my freedom.' He was studying Waalek's face. He was determined. Hera put an arm softly on Waalek's shoulder. He was passionate, a leader. He would have to make a choice and the younglings would follow him.

'Waalek we appreciate this but we can't let you ruin the relationship with your father, the leader and cause war between your people over us.' Kanan nodded at Hera. She always knew the perfect things to say. He took a deep breath and prayed Waalek would listen to him. He needed him to realize he was being serious.

'I may not be an active Jedi or part of the council but Jedi bring peace to worlds not war and strife. I can't allow you to plunge your people into a civil war over us.' He looked at him sternly and immediately regretted it by the look of hurt on Waaleks face.

'They wanted to let you both die.' He whispered. 'When you defeated the dark lord they wanted to let you both die. You saved us from possibly the greatest terror of our people and they wanted you both dead. We refused and went out to see if you were alive. We brought you back for healing against their wishes and we would do it again. We are tired of living under the shadows of fear and ignorance.' He looked up bitterly. The words came tumbling out of Kanan before he could stop them.

'Do you think the Jedi wanted to fight in the Clone Wars? Thousands of Jedi were killed. It's what made it so easy for the sith to wipe us out. Some same that was the whole purpose of the Clone War. Besides for the thousands of Jedi who died fighting hundreds more left the order long before the order was given to kill the Jedi. Some were wiped out and some were simply destroyed by the death they saw in the war. Felt. What they felt. We are Jedi. We do not just witness death we feel it. It lives and breathes through the force.'

He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Hera was looking at him with a layer of shock spread across her face. Waalek looked confused. He had just began to notice how quiet the room had gotten when he put a hand gently on Waalek's shoulder. He stared deep into his eyes.

'Please brother, do not repeat mistakes of the past. It is not cowardly to leave a fight to protect your people. It is the most honorable thing to save lives. If you join the galaxy now you will all be wiped out. The galaxy is not ready for your people yet. They will be treated with fear and hostility. Please Waalek. I have been through far too many Jedi's deaths in my life. Please reconsider Waalek. If it means I have to stay here, then I will.' Kanan felt Waalek's father walk up behind him.

'You are wise young Jedi. The galaxy is not yet ready for our people, not today. But the galaxy does need you and Hera. The Jedi were always the voices for those who have none. You must leave and be those voices. We do not join tour fight today, but I sense we will one day soon.' His face looked old and tired. Waalek was looking at his father with a stupified expression on his face.

'You would let them leave?' He whispered.

'Yes both of them.' Hera looked up at the elders who were now pooling around Waalek and his father.

'And Chopper. Dont forget Chopper."

Waalek laughed. 'We wont let you leave unless you take him. That droid terrifies most of the citizens here.' Kanan smiled. He knew it was forced, but he couldn't figure out why. Wasn't this what he wanted? They had avoided conflict and gained an ally. So, why was he filled with dread?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Forgotten Planet**

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Notes:

I added an epilogue for a little extra something something...

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Hera was packing up all their new supplies and food from the Rakatan. Kanan was standing by the edge of their rocks staring out at the planet. He seemed deep in thought. She wanted to comfort him, but she wasn't sure he knew what was wrong. Waalek was sitting with Chopper playing Pazzak. The two had somehow became friends over the last week. After the Rakatan had established them officially has allies they had spent the next seven days in meetings and debriefings. Kanan had missed most of the meetings. The ones he had attended he had spent with his eyes closed and his legs crossed.

By the end of the first day she wanted to smack her head on the hyperdrive engine. She had sat herself in her pilots seat to stew. She didn't want to fight with Kanan, besides he probably wouldn't hear her. Now, she spent almost all of her free time away from Kanan. She understood he was doing whatever he was doing but she was in important meetings. Today, she had been given contact information for an agent named Fulcrum who was organizing a rebellion and the allies spanned over seven galaxies. The Fulcrum had been skeptical of her at first. After an entire day of meetings they had arranged contact information and a general plan for her cell. Of course, Kanan wasn't present for this meeting. Anger coursed through her as she tossed the omnitool she was holding at the wall. It stopped and hovered above the comms panel and landed calmly on a shaft. Waalek's father was standing behind her.

'May I sit?' His eyes were soft and his voice was gentle. He seemed tp have changed a lot since they had arrived. She motioned towards the seat next to her and continued brooding.

'You know he isn't doing it on purpose? He is in pain.'

'I don't know what your talking about.' She had snapped at him. She knew it wasn't nice after all he had done for them, but she was upset.

'You cannot imagine what Kanan is going through.'

'No. I don't. He never tells me what he's going through. I thought he would be happy. He wasn't even at the meeting today to meet our contact! He knew it was important. It's like he abandoned me, he's probably not going to stay with the Ghost.' There she said it. It was done. She was terrified Kanan would leave. She looked up at the Elder, he was looking at her sadly. Dread began to fill her lungs until she felt she could not breathe.

'Kanan. He's..' she started choking on whatever was in her throat. She felt warm hands gently pat her shoulder. Suddenly her whole mind felt like it had been wrapped up in a warm and safe pod. She had never felt so safe. She felt it gently recede from her until she was on her own again.

'What was that?' She whispered.

'That was what Kanan grew up with at the Jedi Temple. After the order was given, everything was ripped from him. His home, his friends, his safety. As a result he cut himself off from the force, so as not to feel the pain anymore. It was why we didn't want to help you during your fight with Darth Malak. We thought he was Sith, or some bounty hunter sent by the Empire.' He paused and looked up sadly.

'That is why he is acting the way he is now. He is mourning what he had lost. He spent years burying the force and everything it represents to him. When he came here he found a part of his people and he didn't feel so alone. When he leaves this planet, he will again feel alone and thrust into a battle with those that killed everyone he loved.' He looked up and smiled. He stood and headed for the door.

'Almost, everyone he loves. Hera, please give him time. He needs your support.' He turned and lifted his head.

'Kanan. I was just on my way out.'

Hera turned to see Kanan walking through the door. He looked short of breathe and a little sweaty. He must have been running.

'Are you alright?' He said as he slumped into the chair. She looked up at him inquisitively. Why was he asking her if she was alright. She was fine. He was the one who was secretly falling apart!

'Are you leaving me? I mean the Ghost. Are you leaving the Ghost.' It came out sterner than she had meant it to and more of a demand. Kanan looked as if she had slapped him. He took a deep breath, sat down next to her and stared at the floor.

'Do you want me to? Because I will. I don't want you to keep me around for charity.' His eyes were fixated on the edge of his shoe. He was sitting on the side of the copilots seat so he was facing her. She whirled to face him.

'When have I ever kept you for charity? We are equals. We work together. Until...' she stopped abruptly. Did she want to bring up what Waalek's father had told her? She was upset but she didn't want to hurt him. He already hurt so much.

'Until, what? Hera why do you think I would leave you?' He was looking directly into her eyes.

'I wouldn't blame you. They're your people. You could stay here.'

'What?'

'The Rakatan. They're Je-'

'No. They're not. My people were different. Yes, they wield the force but not in a way the Jedi did. Even if there was a Council. I would not go back. I don't belong there. Hera. I know where I belong and it's with you. I don't need options and I don't need a choice.' He fell silent.

'But this last week... the meeting today. You weren't interested in any of it. I thought you were preparing yourself to leave.'

'No. I was preparing. But I was preparing myself to leave this place. I need to bury my past, as much as I can. I didn't go to the meeting todat because this contact asked me not to attend. Jedi are more likely to be interrogated than a regular rebel. The less I know the better.'

'You would never betray us.'

'I don't want you to ever be put in the position where you wouldn't know if you were compromised.'

'Your not worried about me?' She raised her eyebrows. His face was a mask of shock at her question.

'I would never let anyone take you.' He said. His face was stern leaving no room for compromise or any arguments.

She lifted herself off of her seat and wedged herself in his lap. She could feel his smile as she rested her head on his shoulder.

'So, do you want me to stay?'

'No.' She whispered. 'I need you to stay.' He lifted her chin his lips hovering just over hers.

'Forever.' He whispered and kissed her.

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 **Epilogue:**

Kanan had put a blanket over Ezra and Sabine. They were huddled together fast asleep. Ezra had been telling her about their battle with the Inquisitor. Zeb was asleep on his bunk and Chopper was powered down. His kids were safe. He stopped by Hera's door and peered in. It had been a long couple of days being held prisoner. He never thought he would get home. Hera wasn't in her room. Maybe she was speaking to Ahsoka again. He turned around and headed to his room. He slid his door open to find Hera sitting on the floor holding one of his old shirts by his bed.

'Hera? Are you ok?' He sat down next her.

'It doesn't feel real, that your here. I was so scared I lost you. I came in here to sleep, but Ezra was already here so I held him while he cried. He didn't see my tears. But I held him. The next day he woke up with a fire to find you. The next day I woke up feeling broken. Please Kanan. Never again. I can't make the decision again. I won't.' He felt tears sting at the back of his eyes. He never expected to ever feel this loved or to love so much after Bilaba had died. After he lost his whole world. But here he was.

'I know. Your the only reason I survived the torture. I love you.'

'Forever.' She whispered. He smiled at her.

'Forever.' He whispered. He smiled lightly took her hand and pulled her to bed with him.


End file.
